Date: 10-26-2001

Case Style: Edward H. Flint, et al. v. Kentucky Department of Corrections, et al.

Case Number: 00-5129

Judge: Marbley

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Plaintiff's Attorney: Michael A. Valenti of Valenti, Hanley & Crooks, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellee

Defendant's Attorney: Edward F. Busch of Conliffe, Sandmann & Sullivan, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellants.

Description: The Defendants, Jack C. Lewis, Dewey Sowders, C. Tony Williams, Michael Whisman, Tommy Eldridge, Richard Gray and James Montgomery appeal the District Court's denial of summary judgment on the issue of qualified immunity.(1) The Plaintiff, Edward H. Flint, the administrator and personal representative of the estate of Robert Flint, brought suit against the Defendants following his son's murder while Robert Flint was an inmate at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex ("LLCC"). In his amended complaint, brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Plaintiff alleged a deprivation of his constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.(2) The central issue before the Court is whether qualified immunity was properly denied by the District Court on the Plaintiff's Eighth Amendment cruel and unusual punishment claim.

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

Outcome: The District Court's opinion is AFFIRMED, and qualified immunity is DENIED to individually named Defendants Lewis, Sowders, Whisman, Eldridge, Gray, Williams and Montgomery.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: